''Aquarius'' is an American

period Period may refer to: Common uses * Era, a length or span of time * Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combin ...

television series. The series begins in 1967 Los Angeles. The story is inspired by actual people and events, but it is also made up of fictional characters and stories. It stars David Duchovny as Sam Hodiak, a fictional LAPD detective investigating the case of a missing teenage girl named Emma Karn (Emma Dumont), along with his younger colleague undercover narcotics officer Brian Shafe (Grey Damon). Hodiak finds himself coming up against Charles Manson. ''Aquarius'' was created by John McNamara for

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

. It aired from May 28, 2015, to September 10, 2016. It was one of eight series to receive the

Critics' Choice Television Award for Most Exciting New Series The Critics' Choice Television Award for Most Exciting New Series was one of the award categories presented annually by the Broadcast Television Journalists Association. It was introduced in 2011 when the event was first initiated and last presente ...

in 2015. On October 1, 2016, NBC canceled the series after two seasons.

Overview

The series begins in 1967

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. The story is inspired by actual people and events, but it is also made up of fictional characters and stories. It stars

David Duchovny David William Duchovny ( ; born ) is an American actor, writer, producer, director, novelist, and singer-songwriter. He is known for portraying FBI agent Fox Mulder on the television series ''The X-Files'' (1993–2002, 2016-2018) and as writ ...

as Sam Hodiak, a fictional LAPD detective investigating the case of a missing teenage girl named Emma Karn (

Emma Dumont Emma Dumont is an American actress, model, and dancer. She is known for her roles as Melanie Segal in the ABC Family series ''Bunheads'', as Emma Karn in the NBC series ''Aquarius'', and as Lorna Dane/Polaris in the FOX series '' The Gifted''. ...

), along with his younger colleague undercover narcotics officer Brian Shafe (

Grey Damon Grey Damon (born September 24, 1987) is an American actor, known for his roles in '' Friday Night Lights'', ''The Nine Lives of Chloe King'' and ''Station 19''. He resides in Los Angeles. Beginning with its premiere on May 28, 2015, Damon co-sta ...

). Hodiak finds himself coming up against Charles Manson (portrayed by

Gethin Anthony Gethin David L. Anthony (born 9 October 1983) is an English television and film actor best known for his role as Renly Baratheon in ''Game of Thrones'' from 2011 to 2012. Early life and education Anthony was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwicks ...

) and his infamous "family", a ragtag group of hippies who follow Manson, and Hodiak discovers that the missing girl is with them. The first season revolves around Manson's increasing influence, while the second season focuses on the

Tate murders Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

and Manson's belief in a coming race war he called " helter skelter".

Cast

Main cast

as Sam Hodiak *

as Brian Shafe *

as Charles Manson *

as Emma Karn *

Claire Holt Claire Rhiannon Holt (born 11 June 1988) is an Australian actress. She is known for her roles as Emma Gilbert in '' H2O: Just Add Water'', Samara Cook in ''Pretty Little Liars'', Chastity Meyer in ''Mean Girls 2'', Rebekah Mikaelson in ''The ...

as Charmain Tully *

Michaela McManus Michaela McManus (born May 20, 1983) is an American actress, known for her portrayals of Lindsey Strauss on ''One Tree Hill'', A.D.A. Kim Greylek on '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', and Grace Karn on the NBC drama ''Aquarius''. Early life ...

as Grace Karn * Brían F. O'Byrne as Ken Karn *

Chance Kelly Chance Kelly is an American film and television actor who portrayed NFL Coach Mike Martz in the film American Underdog (2021). He also played Detective Ed Cutler on the NBC series ''Aquarius''. He is also known for starring as Lt. Col. "Godfathe ...

as Ed Cutler *

Ambyr Childers Ambyr C. Childers (born July 18, 1988) is an American actress known for her portrayal of Susan Atkins in the NBC crime drama '' Aquarius'', Ashley Rucker in the Showtime crime drama ''Ray Donovan'', and Candace Stone in the Lifetime/Netflix ...

as Susan "Sadie" Atkins * Madisen Beaty as Patty Krenwinkel. Beaty reprised the role in

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, dark humor, non-linear storylines, cameos, ensembl ...

's 2019 film '' Once Upon a Time in Hollywood''. *

Cameron Deane Stewart Cameron Deane Stewart (born April 8, 1991) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in the films '' Geography Club'', ''Pitch Perfect'', and ''Dirty Teacher'' as well as his role as Steven in the television teen sitcom '' iCarly''. Career ...

Tex Watson Charles Denton "Tex" Watson (born December 2, 1945) is an American murderer who was a central member of the " Manson Family" led by Charles Manson. On August 9, 1969, Watson, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Susan Atkins murdered pregnant actress Sharon ...

Recurring cast

* Jason Ralph as Mike Vickery *

Beau Mirchoff William Beau Mirchoff (; born January 13, 1989) is a Canadian-American actor best known for his role in the MTV series ''Awkward'', his role as Jamie Hunter in '' Good Trouble'', and his role in ''Now Apocalypse'' on Starz. Early life Mirchoff ...

as Rick Zondervan *

Tara Lynne Barr Tara Lynne Barr (born October 2, 1993) is an American actress. She is best known for portraying Roxy in the dark comedy film ''God Bless America'' (2011), which earned her a Young Artist Award nomination for Best Leading Young Actress in a Featu ...

Katie Katie is an English feminine name. It is a form Katherine, Kate, Caitlin, Kathleen, Katey and their related forms. It is frequently used on its own. People Sports * Katie Boulter (born 1996), British tennis player * Katie Clark (born 1994), Bri ...

(season 1) *

David Meunier David Meunier (born David Miller; February 5, 1973) is an American actor. Early life Meunier was born in Woodburn, Oregon. He played football in high school, and a teammate convinced him to try out for a school production of ''Guys and Dolls''. ...

as Roy Kovic * Shaun Duke as Art Gladner *

Gaius Charles Gaius Charles (born May 2, 1983) is an American actor known for his portrayal of Brian "Smash" Williams in the television drama, ''Friday Night Lights''. He also played Dr. Shane Ross on the ABC medical drama series '' Grey's Anatomy'' and a re ...

as Bunchy Carter * Jodi Harris as Opal Hodiak * Milauna Jemai Jackson as Kristin Shafe *

Spencer Garrett Spencer Garrett (born September 19, 1963) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in the films '' Air Force One'' (1997), '' 21'' (2008), '' Public Enemies'' (2009), ''All the Way'' (2016), and '' The Front Runner'' (2018). He is th ...

as Hal Banyin *

Chris Sheffield Christopher Sheffield (born July 13, 1988) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the role of Ben in ''The Maze Runner ''The Maze Runner'' is a 2009 young adult dystopian science fiction novel written by American author James Das ...

as Walt Hodiak * Brian Gattas as Rue Fisher * Don Luce as Sal Dunphy * Leah Bateman as Janet *

Clare Carey Clare Carey (born June 11, 1967) is an American film and television actress best known for her roles as Kelly Fox in ''Coach'' (1989-1995) and Mary Bailey in ''Jericho'' (2006-2008), and her film role in '' Savannah Sunrise'' (2016). Backgrou ...

as Lucille Gladner * Lobo Sebastian as Guapo *

Jade Tailor Jade Tailor is an American actress. She is known for her regular role as Kady in the Syfy television series '' The Magicians'' (2015–2020), and for starring in the 2018 film ''Higher Power''. Career In 2010, she portrayed the lead role in ''Ka ...

as Rachel *

Marshall Allman Marshall Scot Allman (born April 5, 1984) is an American actor. He is known to television audiences for his role as L. J. Burrows on the Fox television series ''Prison Break''. He is also known for playing Tommy Mickens on ''True Blood''. Earl ...

as Robbie Arthur *

Michael Drayer Michael Drayer (born March 19, 1986) is an American actor. He is best known for his recurring role as Cisco on the television drama–thriller series ''Mr. Robot'', Gabe on the television drama series '' Deception'', and for his supporting role a ...

as Jimmy "Too" Butano * Abby Miller as Mary "Mother Mary" Brunner * Alex Quijano as Joe Moran * James Martinez as

Ruben Salazar Ruben Salazar (March 3, 1928 – August 29, 1970) was a civil rights activist and a reporter for the ''Los Angeles Times,'' the first Mexican-American journalist from mainstream media to cover the Chicano community. Salazar was killed during the ...

Gabriel Chavarria Gabriel Chavarria (born April 29, 1989) is an American actor. He played Jacob Aguilar in Hulu's ''East Los High'' and was the lead during Season One of USA Network's ''The Purge''. Career In 2007, Chavarria made his film debut ''Freedom Writers ...

as Juan *

Tim Griffin John Timothy Griffin (born August 21, 1968) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 20th lieutenant governor of Arkansas since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was the United States Attorney for the Eastern Dist ...

as Ron Kellaher *

Omar J. Dorsey Omar J. Dorsey (born December 22, 1975) is an American actor. He has appeared in films '' The Blind Side'' (2009), ''Django Unchained'' (2012), and '' Selma'' (2014) playing James Orange. In 2016, Dorsey began starring as Hollingsworth "Holly ...

as Ralph Church * Alison Rood as Meg Frazetta * Amanda Brooks as Sharon Tate *

Mark Famiglietti Mark Famiglietti (born September 26, 1979) is an American actor, screenwriter, film producer and author. He is best known for appearing in television shows such as ''Hang Time'' and ''Young Americans''. He also appeared in '' Terminator 3: Rise ...

Jay Sebring Thomas John Kummer (October 10, 1933 – August 9, 1969), known professionally as Jay Sebring, was an American celebrity hair stylist, and the founder of the hairstyling corporation Sebring International. Sebring was murdered by members of the M ...

* Johnny Kostrey as

Wojciech Frykowski Wojciech () is a Polish name, equivalent to Czech Vojtěch , Slovak Vojtech, and German Woitke. The name is formed from two components in archaic Polish: * ''wój'' (Slavic: ''voj''), a root pertaining to war. It also forms words like ''wojown ...

* Andy Favreau as

Dennis Wilson Dennis Carl Wilson (December 4, 1944 – December 28, 1983) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He is best remembered as their drummer and as the middle brother of bandmates Brian and Carl Wilson. ...

Calum Worthy Calum Worthy (born January 28, 1991) is a Canadian actor, writer, and producer, known for his roles as Dez on the Disney Channel series ''Austin & Ally'', Alex Trimboli in the Netflix series '' American Vandal'', Nicholas Godejohn in the Hulu ser ...

as Steven Parent * Jennifer Marsala as Abigail Folger * Chase Coleman as

Terry Melcher Terrence Paul Melcher (born Terrence Paul Jorden; February 8, 1942 – November 19, 2004) was an American record producer, singer, and songwriter who was instrumental in shaping the mid-to-late 1960s California Sound and folk rock movements. His ...

Mark L. Young Mark L. Young (born Markell V. Efimoff (Russian: Маркелл В. Ефимофф) January 1, 1991) is an American actor. He attended La Salle University in the United States. Early life Markell V. Efimoff (Russian: Маркелл В. Ефи� ...

Bobby Beausoleil Robert Kenneth Beausoleil (born November 6, 1947) is an American murderer and associate of Charles Manson and members of his communal Manson Family. He was convicted and sentenced to death for the July 27, 1969 fatal stabbing of Gary Hinman, w ...

* Jefferson White as Gary Hinman *

Olivia Taylor Dudley Olivia Taylor Dudley is an American actress. She is known for her horror film roles such as ''Chernobyl Diaries'' (2012), '' The Vatican Tapes'' (2015) and '' Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension'' (2015), for her television roles such as the ...

as Billie Gunderson

Production

Series creator McNamara calls his show "historical fiction" as it is inspired by Manson but not historically accurate. This is also expressed in the episodes' opening slate. It also contains completely fictional storylines in a period setting and involves historical events, politics, music, and social issues of the era. NBC has published a blog of events from 1967 to provide context. The soundtrack consists of songs from the 1960s. The episode titles are names of famous songs, or Manson Family songs. These songs are included in the episode itself. The title of the series is a song from 1967 (from the cult musical '' Hair''), which gave its name to the era in which the series is set. Season 2 episode titles are names of Beatles songs. The series broadcast by NBC is

TV-14 The TV Parental Guidelines are a television content rating system in the United States that was first proposed on December 19, 1996, by the United States Congress, the television industry and the federal communication commission (FCC), and went ...

. It was planned to release an unrated version through other markets. The DVD released in September 2015 contains nudity and language that was left out of the broadcast version to maintain its TV-14 rating. The original vision was for the show to span six seasons. NBC announced the renewal of ''Aquarius'' for a second season on June 25, 2015.

Episodes

Season 1 (2015)

Season 2 (2016)

Season 2 debuted on June 16, 2016, with a two-hour, commercial-free event that constituted the first three episodes.

Webisodes

''The Summer of Love'' is a series of four short

webisode A webisode (portmanteau of "web" and "episode") is an episode of a series that is distributed as part of a web series or on streaming television. It is available as either for download or in streaming, as opposed to first airing on broadcast or c ...

s. They are set in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

in 1967 during the Summer of Love, before the events of season 1, where Charlie gathers his first followers Mary, Katie, and Sadie.

Broadcast

''Aquarius'' premiered on May 28, 2015. Following the premiere's broadcast, NBC released all 13 episodes of the first season on its website, the NBC

mobile app A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on d ...

, and Hulu for a four-week period. The episodes were also televised in their normal weekly timeslot. In Australia, the series premiered on May 29, 2015 on streaming service Presto, with all 13 episodes being released for 28 days. Its later television debut on the

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australia ...

(which co-owns Presto) aired on August 26, 2015. Season 2 aired on the same day as the U.S., on Presto in Australia.

Reception

Critical response

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

gives season 1 of ''Aquarius'' a score of 58/100 based on reviews from 36 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Glenn Garvin of ''

Reason Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, ...

'' praised the series for being more than just another retelling of the Manson story, noting "The epic battles over race, gender, drugs, and the Vietnam war are all on display here." He also praises the "killer 1960s soundtrack". Additionally, the show was nominated for and won Most Exciting New Series at the Critics’ Choice Television Awards in 2015.

Ratings

These Nielsen ratings reflect the regular TV broadcast, but do not include the online

binge-watching Binge-watching (also called binge-viewing) is the practice of watching entertainment or informational content for a prolonged time span, usually a single television show. Statistics Binge-watching overlaps with marathon viewing which places mo ...

that was made possible by releasing the complete series on demand even before the TV broadcast. Those online view numbers, however, are not publicly available. NBC claims they helped gaining insight into online viewing behavior.

Season 1

Season 2

References

External links

* * {{Manson Family 2010s American crime drama television series 2010s American LGBT-related drama television series 2015 American television series debuts 2016 American television series endings Cultural depictions of Charles Manson English-language television shows Fictional portrayals of the Los Angeles Police Department NBC original programming Television series about dysfunctional families Television series based on actual events Television series by ITV Studios Television series created by John McNamara (writer) Television series set in the 1960s Television shows set in Los Angeles